By Xinhua
Beirut : Thousands of Lebanese pro-government supporters gathered in downtown Beirut on Thursday to mark the third anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination in a show of force against the opposition led by Syria-backed Hezbollah.
Braving heavy rains and bad weather, the supporters started arriving at 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) from different Lebanese areas.
Local New TV’s footage showed that thousands of supporters, waving white-and-red Lebanese flags and banners that read such slogans as “Enough martyrs, Enough Blood,” converged at Martyr Square in downtown Beirut to listen to speeches by the country’s anti-Syrian leaders, including Hariri’s son Saad Hariri.
Convoys from the north, mount Lebanon district, Bekaa Valley, and the south are also seen arriving at the scene with Lebanese flags as well as various pro-government parties’ flags waving form car windows.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah is to hold a mass funeral on the same day in Beirut’s Shiite Muslim southern suburb for Imad Moughniyah, one of its top commanders killed on Tuesday in a car bombing in Syria, for which the group blamed Israel.
The simultaneity of the two events fuels fears of violence, which has already mounted in the run up to the mass rally as well as with the assassination of Moughniyah.
Security was tight in and around the capital with army troops deployed heavily to avoid violence. Strict security measures have been taken to separate roads taken by opposition supporters heading to the southern suburbs of Beirut for the funeral of Moughniyah, and the pro-government supporters heading to downtown Beirut.
Rafik Hariri and 22 others were killed in a massive bomb blast in Beirut on Feb. 14 2005. A UN probe has implicated Syrian officials in the killing though Damascus has denied its role.
Lebanon is facing the worst political crises since the 1975-1990 civil war. The presidential seat has been vacant since former President Emile Lahoud ended his term on Nov. 24, 2007.